Clemson

Clemson football literally lost a piece of its history earlier this month when Howard's Rock was struck by vandals. According to a statement released by the university earlier this week, a piece of the iconic rock Clemson players have rubbed during the football team's entrance into Memorial Stadium since 1966 was broken off on either June 2 or 3. "We take vandalism, especially of such an important part of our history, very seriously," Athletic...

The Atlantic Coast Conference has been waiting so many years for this stand-alone moment it might collectively have to take a nervous pill and sit down. The ACC has spent years failing to prove it was more than just a basketball conference. It wanted so badly in football to be more than just Florida State it was willing to reconstruct. The ACC effectively destroyed the Big East Conference in 2003 by plundering Miami, Virginia Tech and then Boston College, setting off the conflagration of conference realignment.

This could be the year Clemson gets over the program slump hump and wins its first national title since 1981. Most years, we can't wait for a season to get started. But with Clemson we also can't wait for it to end. The 2013 public relations campaign recently got back-loaded when Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina's behemoth defensive lineman, unloaded on Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd. The schools have had a rivalry dating to post-Reconstruction and Clowney was happy to contribute to the conversation.

Five things to watch this week in college football. 1: Central Florida at No. 8 Louisville provides the Cardinals another Thursday night window to prove they are deserving of title consideration. Louisville did not exactly light up the room last week against Rutgers, but UCF is a good 4-1 team with a win this year at Penn State. 2: Everyone was looking forward to UCLA's game at Stanford because it figured to feature a top-10 team with national title aspirations. Lo and behold, that team is UCLA after the Bruins cracked the top 10 and Stanford dropped out after a tough road loss at Utah.

In this case, Coach Danny Ford of Clemson didn't mind going for a tie. With the ball on the Maryland four and two seconds left, David Treadwell kicked a 21-yard field goal to make the final score 17-17 at Baltimore Saturday, giving Clemson the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. Ford made his decision from the press box, where both he and Maryland Coach Bobby Ross had been banished for separate confrontations with officials. Maryland is 1-3-1 in the ACC and 4-5-1 overall.

Two young teams with 8-3 records, Clemson and Syracuse, meet in today's Gator Bowl at Jacksonville, Fla. "I guess it is odd for us to be so young," said defensive end Chris Marques, one of seven Syracuse senior starters. No. 23 Clemson is just as inexperienced, starting only eight seniors and only two on offense. The offensive leaders, quarterback Nealon Greene and fullback Raymond Priester, are sophomores. Both started as freshmen.

Rusty Charpia singled home Dave Tripp with two out in the 19th inning to give Clemson to a 3-2 victory over Fordham in the longest National Collegiate Athletic Assn. playoff game ever played Thursday in the Northeast Regional at New Britain, Conn. The game broke the NCAA tournament record of 16 innings set in 1972 when Connecticut beat Harvard, 8-5, and equaled in 1979 when Miami (Fla.) beat The Citadel, 3-1. Because of the game's length, the game between St.

Junior transfer Larry Middleton scored 24 points and veteran forward Horace Grant grabbed 15 rebounds to spark Clemson to an 83-57 victory over Maryland Eastern Shore Monday night at Clemson, S.C. Middleton, who played the last two years at Valley College, brought immediate firepower to the Tigers in his first start, scoring 16 points in the first 10 minutes to stake Clemson to a 24-10 lead.

Iowa and Clemson dropped out of the undefeated ranks Saturday, leaving DePaul as the only Division I school with a perfect record in college basketball. Iowa, ranked No. 1, was stunned by Ohio State, 80-76, at Iowa City. Clemson, ranked 10th, was knocked off by 12th-ranked Duke, 105-103, in overtime at Clemson, S.C. Iowa had defeated three Top Ten teams--Indiana, Purdue and Illinois--in the last nine days.

Bobby Hurley's reputation as an offensive threat continued to grow Monday night against Clemson. Hurley scored 16 of his 21 points during the second half as third-ranked Duke defeated the Tigers, 93-84, in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Clemson, S.C. All five of Hurley's three-point baskets came at crucial times for Duke, 18-3 overall and 6-3 in the ACC. The Blue Devils have won five in a row since losing two of three during a stretch in January.

This could be the year Clemson gets over the program slump hump and wins its first national title since 1981. Most years, we can't wait for a season to get started. But with Clemson we also can't wait for it to end. The 2013 public relations campaign recently got back-loaded when Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina's behemoth defensive lineman, unloaded on Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd. The schools have had a rivalry dating to post-Reconstruction and Clowney was happy to contribute to the conversation.

Clemson football literally lost a piece of its history earlier this month when Howard's Rock was struck by vandals. According to a statement released by the university earlier this week, a piece of the iconic rock Clemson players have rubbed during the football team's entrance into Memorial Stadium since 1966 was broken off on either June 2 or 3. "We take vandalism, especially of such an important part of our history, very seriously," Athletic...

Click here to download TV listings for the week Dec. 9 - 15 in PDF format This week's TV Movies SERIES 30 for 30: This new episode profiles Bo Jackson, a two-sport athlete who excelled in the NFL and Major League Baseball (6 p.m. ESPN and 9 p.m. ESPN2). Saturday Night Live: Jamie Foxx hosts and Ne-Yo performs (11:29 p.m. NBC). SPECIALS White House Christmas: Through the Years: This new special recalls the holiday decorations at the nation's President's residence (7 p.m. HGTV)

MORNING Yale (2-7) at Harvard (7-2) 9 a.m., NBCSN A tradition unlike any other … no wait, that's the Masters on CBS. This is the 129th meeting of the Ivy League schools. Yale holds a 65-55-8 advantage in the storied rivalry, but Harvard has won 10 of the last 11 and seeks a record sixth straight win in the series. No. 10 Florida State (9-1) at Maryland (4-6) 9 a.m., ESPNU Florida State is 9-1 for the first time since 2000 but can't gain traction in the Bowl Championship Series computers.

Notre Dame's big win at Oklahoma on Saturday night has created a possible nightmare scenario in the BCS as four undefeated teams possibly vie for two national title spots. Despite its impressive win, Notre Dame was not able to leapfrog the three unbeaten teams ahead of the Irish. Alabama (8-0) and Oregon (8-0) held on to the top two spots in two major polls released Sunday. Kansas State (8-0) took advantage of Florida's defeat to move up to No. 3 while Notre Dame (8-0) moved to No. 4. The problem is none of the top four teams play one another, leaving the possibility that all could be undefeated at the end of the season.

They take barbecue awfully seriously in South Carolina --- but they take Clemson University football even more so. A Pickens, S.C., police officer on Thursday said people's love of the sport has cost him a job. At a news conference in his lawyer's office, Michael McClatchy outlined his version of events on the night of Sept. 3, when he issued a ticket to Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney. McClatchy said he clocked the celebrated coach doing 63 miles an hour in a 35 mph zone in Pickens, about 20 miles from Clemson.

This column will be devoted almost entirely to the Atlantic Coast Conference. The ACC earned the clear-out space in advance of Saturday night's enticing matchup of No. 10 Clemson at No. 4 Florida State. ABC trotted its "A" team to Tallahassee and ESPN dressed Lee Corso up in a headdress and war paint (seriously) and then had him plant a pregame spear in a patch of grass. The ACC is entitled to close-up examination after so many years of pundits' harping on the fact the league is only 2-13 in BCS bowls.

Louisiana State and Alabama step aside this weekend to offer an open tryout for the second spot in this year's Bowl Championship Series title game in New Orleans. Anyone who thinks the winner of next week's LSU at Alabama game will not cinch one of the berths has not paid attention to college football the last five years. With BCS No. 1 and No. 2 off enjoying bye weeks, along with No. 4 Boise State, other contenders have a chance to state their cases: No. 3 Oklahoma State (7-0)